The EcoMan:

Bamboo Co-Cruising

Contributed By: ecofabulous

Who knew that one of the greenest ways to get around town could be even greener? Craig Calfee, the founder of Calfee Designs, has made carbon frame bikes for the biking world’s elite (including Tour de France victors), but we fell in love with his bamboo triple bike (can easily be converted into a tandem) and keep picturing ourselves cycling off into another era.

Calfee built his first bamboo bike in 1996, and praise from friends and coworkers resulted in the bikes coming into mainstream production in 2005. They are truly functional and have won numerous cycling awards, but environmental enthusiasts cheer about their eco-friendly construction - which includes hemp fiber lugs and a tung oil finish. Now, what started out as a publicity stunt for Calfee has gained a more noble purpose: Craig traveled to Ghana with Earthwatch Institute in 2007 and just returned from another visit to empower Ghanaians to use their abundant local bamboo resources to build bamboo cargo bikes for their own use. Stay tuned for how the overseas effort evolves, or get your own. At around $3k they are not your daughter’s bicycle, but she can hop on back!